Law&Crime Sidebar - Florida Student Accused of Killing Baby OUT of Jail...

Episode Date: July 17, 2026

Brianna Moore is seen giggling in a Florida courtroom after she was released from jail this week on a $262,500 cash bond. The 21-year-old faces several charges including aggravated manslaughter in the death of her infant child in 2024 — after she allegedly gave birth in her college dorm bathroom and threw the infant’s body in a trash can. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber walks through the arguments surrounding Moore’s recent bond hearing and the disturbing details of her case ahead of trial scheduled for this November.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW:Grow your own audience today – go to https://www.opus.pro/sidebar for 1 week free plus 50% off the first 3 months of Opus Pro. HOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger, Christina O'Shea, Alex Ciccarone, & Jay CruzScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrimeTwitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

An accused baby killer is all smiles in a Florida courtroom after being freed from jail on bond. I know you delivered. The baby cried and then did you pretty much immediately grab up the baby to make sure that roommates weren't hearing what was going on? I mean, I just kind of put its head like right here, and it stopped. Okay. Okay. Stop crying. Okay. Okay. And her defense team argues, she does deserves to travel out of state to live back at home in Mississippi with her family. The community over there is loving and supporting of her.

She did not run after being investigated by police. She could have gone anywhere in the world and where do they find her at home. So what's next for the 21-year-old college student as she heads to trial this fall? Let's talk about it. Welcome to Sidebar. Presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. By the way, as you're watching this and you're into content creation,

maybe you're putting things out on social media. Have you ever wondered how we're able to share all of these clips from all of these stories so quickly? Well, we use something called Opus Clip. Okay? And Opus Clip is an all-in-one AI editor that makes it so easy to cut, create, and upload videos across any platform. Through AI, Opus Clip generates B-roll. It reframes footage, and it even cleans up audio. Again, it's so easy.

You just visit opus.pro slash sidebar. You sign up, you upload in a minutes. you'll have perfectly edited clips ready to go for TikTok, shorts, reels. Opus clip is really your one-stop shop. Having a tool like Opus clip means that our producers can get you viral courtroom updates instantly. This is the most powerful tool there is to share ideas and edit like a pro. So go to opus.com slash sidebar to get a free week and then 50% off. This is a case that has been in the making since 2024. When 19-year-old Brianna Moore was arrested for the death of her newborn baby,

And now it's just 21 years old, she is facing over 50 years behind bars if she's convicted on her charges. And the circumstances are disturbing. Her initial arrest came with a monumental bond. We're talking over $250,000. And the defense pushed this week to have that bond lower. But somehow, she was able to post that full bond amount on Wednesday night. And she was seen smiling in court after being freed from shackles. until she stands trial scheduled for November.

But that wasn't enough for the defense because they want her home. They want her with her family in Mississippi and not stuck in Florida as per the bond agreement. Now, we're going to get into what the judge ultimately decided later on. But if you're new to this case, here's the 4-1-1, April 2024, 19-year-old, then- 19-year-old Brianna Moore, who originally grew up in a small farm in Meridian, Mississippi, is now a freshman at the University of Tampa, where she says she received a partial scholarship to study marine biology. According to police, Moore was pregnant when she arrived on campus.

However, Moore said she had no idea that she was pregnant, though she admitted she could have been in denial. Now, regardless, the entire situation allegedly came to a head on the morning of April 27. We go to around 7 a.m., more allegedly woke up not feeling well, went to a bathroom that she shared with three other girls, and according to police, that is what. and more then gave birth to a baby girl. And in a situation like this, your first thought might be, you know, get help. And in most cases, that's what happens.

Not apparently what happened here. Instead, Moore allegedly admitted to Tampa police that she sat with that baby for a while in the bathroom before taking a shower, falling asleep for around an hour. And she reportedly also told police she believed the baby died. not long after it was born. She apparently claims that she was shocked, that she was panicked, that she ended up putting this dead child in a trash can. Now, remember, it's early in the morning. And at this point, according to officials, no one had been called out to respond to the birth.

But considering that this happened in a bathroom between two dorm rooms that was shared by four people, you know what I'm going to say. This is an apparent secret that can't be kept for too long. According to the criminal affidavit, police interviewed all three roommates, and all three of them apparently said they were woken by what they thought was a baby crime. Two of the roommates apparently went back to sleep thinking they might have been dreaming, but one of them reportedly got out of bed shortly after, tried to enter the bathroom, which reportedly ended up being locked. And according to the report, the roommate heard more say, sorry behind the door. That roommate ended up believing for work. This is according to the affidavit. When one of the other roommates eventually got out of bed,

she apparently walks into what is a nightmare, telling police the bathroom appear to be covered in blood. She allegedly said she took a video of it and sent it to the other two roommates, and that's when they all agreed that they heard a baby cry. And it's also worth noting that two of the roommates allegedly believed more was pregnant. The report says that that afternoon, the roommates alerted campus security to the blood on their bathroom floor reporting that Moore could have delivered or possibly delivered a baby, possibly had a miscarriage. EMS personnel. They went to Moore's room in McKay Hall to check on her. Moore reportedly told them that the blood was from menstruation, that she wasn't pregnant.

And at that point, medical personnel also reportedly found no signs of a baby being born. You go to the following day. So it's now April 28th, and Moore's roommate and her friend were allegedly inside their dad. dorm room and saw a bloody towel in Moore's trash can. Here's what happened next, according to the paperwork. Quote, using a styrofoam container, the roommate's friend touched the towel and felt something firm inside. Believing this was possibly a baby, the roommate's friend picked up the trash bag from the can, walked outside with Moore's roommate and alerted campus safety. Moore's roommate and her friend were joined by another roommate before campus safety arrived. campus safety, open the towel in the presence of the roommate's friend and found a deceased

infant. So they're talking about multiple witnesses. Now, based on what's included in this criminal affidavit, this sounds like an extremely traumatic situation for everybody involved. And you'd have to imagine both Moore's roommates and the woman who discovered Moore's baby would be called to testify during trial, right? Because they're all witnesses to all of this. And if their accounts are similar, that's going to be compelling for the point. prosecution. So we'll have to wait and see what happens there. Now, we already mentioned this brief summary earlier of what more allegedly told police, but audio recordings of two of her interviews were released in the first taking place on April 28th. This is the day after she allegedly gave birth.

Here's how that went. You had quite due ordeal. It sounds like yesterday morning in the bathroom for a few hours, okay? Listen, we're not judging at all on this, okay? People can get in over their had sometimes they're not sure what to do okay but just let's be just be honest okay basically um first of all I did not even know that I was pregnant okay and then I did I just woke up not feeling good yesterday morning so I went to the bathroom I was puking whatever and then Yeah, but after like a few seconds it was dead. How long did the baby cry for?

Because I know all the roommates and sweetmates all heard the baby crying. How long? I would say like five seconds maybe. Five seconds are crying? Something around that ish. Okay. Did you take the baby back to bed for you for a short time period? I was in the bathroom. I just stayed in the bathroom. You just stayed in the bathroom?

Mm-hmm. Now, do you think you're in denial about being pregnant where you thought you might have been but weren't quite sure because you hadn't been, have you been pregnant before? No. Okay. Probably in denial because, which I didn't really think any. I just kind of put it out of my head because I hadn't had my period since last March. Yeah, more seemingly admitted to the detectives that she hadn't had her period in around a year, but says that she attributed that to the fact that she attributed that. that she had stopped using a birth control patch.

And the detectives know that this is a delicate situation, but they also need details for more about what happened. So you went to the bathroom and obviously had a baby. Did you deliver the placenta as well? Yes. Okay, you're sure about that? I'm pretty sure. Something else after the baby came out?

Yeah. And something pretty good amount of something. Yeah. Okay, it's just it's important for your health on that. Yeah, okay. Okay, I'm worried about you a little bit, okay? So you had the baby and the baby cried for how long do you think? Just a few seconds, not long at all. Not long at all? So the baby cried for a short time period and you sure it wasn't any, now here's the thing. The medical examiner is going to be able to tell a lot of things. your honesty right now is very, very important, okay? So I took a shower, well, I sat in the shower,

I didn't really like washing anything. If I just sat in the shower. Shower on or off? On. Okay. And then, um, I think I got out and I sat there for a little bit. Tried to wipe up some blood and I just kind of sat there. What after you sat there, what did you do then?

What did you do then? Well, it wasn't moving, so I felt for a heartbeat and I didn't feel one. Where did you feel? Like right here. Okay, on the chest? Yeah, and then it wasn't moving, and I got scared.

What did you do after that? I was out to fly towel on the floor in my room and I went to sleep because I was tired And I hadn't slept, well, obviously. I took a nap. And then when I got up, I just completely did not know what to do. So, yeah, the detective then goes on to ask more if seeing the situation in hindsight, would she have done things differently?

If you could do it again, what would you do? Probably when I started feeling back, probably go to the hospital. But once I thought that I was in labor, I was like, I can't afford, first of all, to have a baby at the hospital. And I was like, I just, I got some paintings. I didn't know what to do. And then I was like, okay, well, if it makes it, then I can just take it to the hospital and surrender the baby. Because you can do that, can't you? I can take to hospital.

Yeah, that's what I had in my head that I was going to do. But then I just didn't. And it just didn't seem alive. So I didn't. Yeah. Can I ask why you wouldn't or didn't call that one? Because I was scared. And I didn't want anyone to know.

And it's just, I don't know. I just got scared and panicked. And I don't know. Another important question the detectives hint on. Did she show any signs of pregnancy? Just having a hard time getting over the fact that you didn't know you were pregnant. Did you know and you were just embarrassed about it and weren't sure what you do? No, I had no idea because all my, like I said, all my clothes still fit.

And then I didn't have like any like sickness or anything. Like I never felt bad. Did your, did your belly distint because your roommate said it looked like a pretty good size little belly here? She thought that was odd because, you know, you were skinny. She said everywhere else, but had definitely a pronounced value. I mean, all my closest that, I'd say, like, because I would just assume, like, it was freshman 15 or whatever. Had you told any friends that you might be pregnant? Mm-mm.

No? You told nobody that you might be pregnant? Mm-hmm. Okay. So after this interview finishes up, the autopsy is conducted the following day on April 29th. I'm going to read you directly from the paperwork, quote, during the autopsy, It was discovered that the infant had sustained multiple fractured ribs along the spine in evidence of patiqual hemorrhaging in the lungs. Dr. McCormick determined that the cause

of death was asphyxia due to compression of the torso with rib fractures the matter of death as homicide. So with that in mind, detectives conduct a second interview in a squad car and they're still trying to get to the bottom of what really happened. And when we talked the other day, you described kind of holding the baby clutching it kind of to your breast, chest area, and the baby's face was towards you. Was the baby still trying to cry a little bit, and you're just trying to keep things a little on the quiet side? I'm not sure. You're just not sure? I'm just, I'm sorry.

I'm just not sure. I'm not sure. I don't know that not sure is going to answer some of the questions that people. or going to one answered. Yeah. So maybe you held the baby for 10 minutes and just kind of like this with your hand kind of just holding the baby

to your bosom. Yeah, probably like this-ish. Yeah. Can you think, do you think it was just you and the baby in the bathroom? Mm-hmm. Besides me holding it,

I didn't really like do anything else with it. I mean... Did you think you were pregnant, but not, months pregnant that you were at the beginning of things? I have, um, I mean, like, I questioned it a few times, but I didn't, I just kind of put it out of my mind, so I didn't really like... Yeah. Certainly didn't want to be pregnant. I mean, you're 19 in college, it's not like it

would be a planned thing. Yeah, but like, I didn't have any symptoms, so I was like, there's no way. I know you were trying to be somewhat private about this. I know that the roommates had suspicions that you were pregnant. They all thought you were pregnant, okay? they saw what they thought was a baby bump. And they, when they heard a baby cry, of course, they dismissed it in the beginning because it didn't make sense to them. But then when they saw the bathroom, it made sense to them that what they heard was a baby cry. So several people thought you were pregnant. Okay.

And women know these things. You know what I mean? They can see things. And to them, it made sense. And you, like you said, you may have been in denying. on some of that. When the baby cried, did you grab the baby up close

to make sure that nobody could hear anything? Yeah, I just put its, like, head against my chest. And was it just to quiet the baby? I mean, well, to hold it because I just had a baby. I know. Oh, my God. You study biology, correct?

Mm-hmm. Do you know what patechial hemorrhages are? is where blood vessels burst because of asphyxiation. Okay. You can sometimes see it in eyes. You can sometimes see it on legs. You can most definitely see it on lungs. And there were particular hemorrhages on the lungs,

which is generally indicative of a suffocation. Okay. We may have to speak again. Yeah, that's totally fine. So Moore and her family coordinated with a local funeral home. And according to an article from the Tampa Bay Times, she returned home to Mississippi with the newborn's remains in an urn. Over the next several months, Tampa police in the Hillsborough County Prosecutor's Office,

they worked closely together to determine if there was probable cause to charge more with a crime. And they found some pretty shocking evidence when examining Moore's phone. like apparent text messages dating back to September 2023. At the time, Moore would have already been pregnant, although whether she knew about her pregnancy, that's up for debate. Now I'm going to warn you, these alleged messages are unpleasant. In the messages, more and a contact name, Kassim, are talking about what are sometimes referred to as morning after pills or abortion pills.

And again, I'm going to warn you, this is delicate, this is disturbed. But Qasim allegedly calls them plan C and says crazy. And Brianna Moore allegedly replies, hey man, sometimes you need a plan C. Casim purportedly writes, plan A was condoms, plan B was the pill, plan C was to kill the kid, to which Brianna Moore allegedly replies back, plan C is my favorite. in a motion to have these texts included as evidence at trial, because you understand why this would be so significant for the prosecution. The prosecution wrote in a filing, the September 13th, 2023 text message is irrelevant. They very clearly lay out a willingness to kill a baby if other means of contraception have failed.

Although intent to kill is not an element of the charge defenses, there is an intent element inherent in the willful failure to provide care of a child neglect charge and consciously doing an act or following a course of conduct that gives rise to culpable negligence for an aggravated manslaughter charge. And I'm going to add, while these texts are disturbing, the judge ultimately ruled they will not be allowed into the state's case unless the door becomes open during trial to introduce them. In other words, let's say, for example, Brianna Moore says something about this if she takes the stand, or the defense does something in their presentation of evidence or their presentation of witnesses that would suggest something like this or mention these messages in a way, or the prosecutor is forced to rebut a certain narrative. So in October 2024, this is months after the birth,

authorities arrested Moore out in Mississippi and brought her back to Florida. And she was charged with child neglect with great bodily harm, unlawful storage, preservation or transportation of human remains, failure to report death to medical examiner or law enforcement intent to conceal an aggravated manslaughter of a child. The charges were later amended to, change the charge of unlawful storage of human remains to unlawful hold or storage of a human body in unapproved conditions. Now, you might be asking yourself, okay, what is the possible defense here, right? According to court records, Moore's defense team plans to present medical testimony, both on Moore's condition after birth and to dispute the autopsy report on the basis that the

baby's injuries are not necessarily proof that Moore intended to kill her. They also plan to present psychological testimony, including the forensic neuropsychologist Dr. Nicole Graham, who, according to court documents, plans to argue that Moore experienced a cryptic pregnancy. According to Dr. Graham, Brianna Moore entered a mild, disassociative state during labor and delivery due to the psychological trauma of an unexpected childbirth. And according to Dr. Graham, such a state could inhibit Moore's ability to respond appropriately to the situation. And I will add that it's The Daubert hearing is expected to take place in the near future where we expect to hear from some of the defense's expert witnesses, the judge will then determine if this kind of medical

testimony is admissible. So during that hearing, we're going to get an even better idea of what the defense kind of has up their sleep. As for more, whether she plans to testify, that's yet to be disclosed. It's her choice. It's her choice only. And she's going to have to make that decision. But I will be curious to see what has ultimately decided because she may need to explain to

this jury why she did what she did, what she knew, why she allegedly failed to take certain actions that the prosecution claim she failed to do. So putting the jury in her shoes, and if she's credible and believable and sympathetic, that could be something. Now, what we do know is that Moore will not spend the remainder of her time in jail ahead of trial scheduled for November 2nd of this year. But it wasn't exactly a walk in the park to get there. Since her arrest, Moore spent nearly two years behind bars on a massive bond over $250,000. I talked about that. And when you think about it, at her age, your peers are enjoying college,

experiencing the beginning of their adult lives. But instead, for her, she spent the ages of 19 to 21, not taking classes, not hanging out with friends, not going out to the bar in a jail cell. And on Wednesday, the defense asked the judge to lower that bond amount by $150,000 and modify the conditions of a release, including letting more leave Florida and return to Mississippi to live with their family. At the time, the judge denied the defense's motion without prejudice, meaning if Moore had posted bond, he would revisit Moore's release conditions. And on Wednesday night, at around 9 p.m., that is reportedly exactly what happened. More posted or bond was released from

custody. So on Thursday, the issue was presented in court once again. Here's how that went. Brianna Moore is indigent. Just because her family has resources and might have the ability to do so does not mean that she has the ability to do so. She's 21 years old. She's a legal adult. Right now she has 48 cents to her name of what was refunded to her from the jail. The entire family is in Mississippi. That's where she was born, raised family has been there for generations. She has five potential different houses that she could live at there. She currently has no ties to Hillsborough County. And given all of the publicity that has been happening in this case, I don't know that she'd be able to actually be a productive member of

society if she wanted to get a part-time job or do other things as well to not be harassed if she is out in public in Hillsborough County. She has her family members. Her family is here today. They've come to every single court date. Back in February, her dad came down for court in November for the hearing day in November. Mom, dad, and grandma all showed up to court. So the state's supposition or propositions yesterday that she's a flight risk and not going to return to court is incorrect her family has been here when they don't even have to be here and they make the drive or the flight every time from Mississippi to come and support their daughter. Ms. Moore was released with the ankle monitor. It's a hard plastic one. It's not one that you could cut off. So she is being monitored. They can't set the parameters so that she does not leave the state of Mississippi or the town or county that she's in unless she's traveling for court. Additionally, the state's argument yesterday that she's a flight risk, there has to be a substantial factual basis to show that she is an actual flight risk. She does not have a passport.

Her driver's license is currently expired. It expired while she was sitting in jail, so she does not have a way to get around. She has no money to go anywhere. So being able to be with her family supported by them, the community over there is loving and supporting of her. she would be able to get a job, spend time with her family in the meantime, and of course would appear in person as required for all the court hearings moving forward. There's been no change in circumstances and there's been no evidence presented to this court that there's a change in circumstances. Without a change in circumstances, this court cannot consider a different bond than that imposed by Judge Sabella at the pretrial detention hearing when he heard from witnesses. He took testimony, and he was presented with evidence to support the charges that the state has brought.

And after hearing arguments from both the state and the defense, the judge waited. I mean, I get the financial lender. I do. I understand what you're talking about. I mean, she's not any ties here. The families in Mississippi, and I completely understand it. It is a financial firm. I'm not saying it's not. My concern is, let's assume she goes to equipment and she runs. And I'm not saying she's going to run, but let's just assume for a second she does. Okay. I don't know how big cooking is. I don't want that police force. I'm not saying I want to bachelor with in Mississippi. But I don't, you know, let's assume she runs. I'm not saying she's going to. And Ms. Hodges calls or whoever you have her picked up. I mean, I don't know if there's a police force there at all. I have no idea if there's any way to force that. I mean, she could cut her monitor her and fly off. And I'm not saying she's going to do that. But I mean, That's the concern of, you know, the financial one that you're talking about is for families there. I mean, I get that.

I completely understand that. But, I mean, that's what kind of fault process. You've got somebody to address it all in all years. Afterwards, the defense addressed the judge's concerns. Obviously, after this incident, she disenrolled from the University of Tampa, moved back home to Quimmon, Mississippi. She had a part-time job and was enrolled in university over there, in the pendency of before the warrant was filed because she was told that she was free to leave

before leaving the state of Florida she gave law enforcement here all of the addresses of everyone's home and where she would be which is where they found her when the warrant was issued for her arrest there is a law enforcement presence there they are would be able to pick her up or check on her I don't know how much control Florida has over Mississippi but in addition with the ankle monitor and I'm happy to have the court see the monitor. It is a hard plastic ring. The bonds agent, along with the family, would make sure that she returns to court. If not, that's $26,000 that the bonds agent is losing out on.

That GPS monitor is one of the, like, high technology. It's better than what's provided locally from the jail when people are released. It is really not able to be cut off. It's 24-hour monitoring. And you can bet that, you know, you know, that the bonds agent would turn into Dog the Bounty Hunter if she were to run. But she's not going to run. She did not run after being investigated by police.

She could have gone anywhere in the world and where do they find her at home. So the actual reality, is it a possibility? Yes, anything's a possibility. But the reality of if she's going to run, no, she's not. We've been in contact the entire time with her family, with her. We don't, Mr. Dixon and I don't have any concern. that she is going to run with her family being able to support her and bring her back when they have been back to court when they haven't had to be, along with the GPS monitoring and the bonds agent that would also assure her presence in court.

That is specifically what bond conditions are required to secure a person's return to court, not to limit otherwise their life. one of the defense attorneys even had more leave the defense table to show the judge, her ankle monitor. I just wanted the court to actually see the monitor. It's not a normal one that this would take like some industrial strength thing to break. I'm serious. I just saw it and I can't believe it. This is a serious object. It's like a ball and chain. So if I could have her approach and just stand right there and show this is not the little thin monitor. This is several inches. Thank you. Also, I wanted to point out, she was fully cooperative with this investigation. From the first time she talked to law enforcement, gave multiple statements to law enforcement, answered every question. The remains of her daughter were given to her at the end of the investigation. She took them home in an urn, the cremains. They're in her home. she graduated from the University of Tampa

from that year so I'm mistaken that she finished the semester passing her courses transferred to another university she was in the semester there in Mississippi and out of the blue this arrest happened I asked Detective Campbell why didn't you just tell her to come back to Tampa but she's been fully cooperative

and answered every question, and that's reflected in the police reports. It's undisputed. She's been, obviously, at every hearing, and so has her family fully invested in this case. We've been doing thorough discovery. We're prepared for trial. So there would be no reason for her to run away, and no pattern to suggest she would, obviously, no prior record. She was here on a scholarship. Now she transferred to another university.

and she was in her sophomore year when this case was initiated five months after the incident. So she's fully cooperative. But despite the defense's argument that Moore has allegedly been on her best behavior since the incident happened. And after arrest, the judge ultimately denied their motion. And Moore is going to have to spend her time out on bond in Hillsborough County where the judge has given her one week to find a permanent place to live. So we're going to have to wait and see how all of this unfolds. We're going to cover it as much as we possibly can. But in the meantime, thank you so much for coming here and joining us on Sidebar.

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